Kopitar, Kings Able to Extinguish Late Fire as They Win Eighth-in-a-Row; Improve to 38-22-6

CALGARY – It is fair to say that they were on the edge of their collective seats in the last few minutes but when it was all said and done, fans of the Los Angeles Kings saw their team pick up their eighth-straight win. After going perfect on their Western road swing, the Kings now return home with all of the momentum on their side.

The season series between the Kings and Calgary Flames ends split with the road team winning all four times. Mike Cammalleri added to his success against his former team to get the Flames on the board but in the end, it wasn’t enough.

Justin Williams continued his post-Sochi hot streak, scoring 4:05 into the game to get things started. The goal, Williams’s 17th, was tipped in off an Anze Kopitar shot. Alec Martinez, another King on a post-Sochi tear, recorded the other assist. Then, at exactly the halfway point of the first, Trevor Lewis scored his second goal in as many games, tipping in a Slava Voynov point shot. Kyle Clifford picked up the second assist.

Despite being outshot 8-7, the Kings held the two-goal advantage after 20 minutes.

In the second, though, it was Los Angeles doing the outshooting (12-7) but neither team was able to score. In the third, the silver-and-black padded their lead courtesy of Anze Kopitar who tipped in a Drew Doughty shot at the 7:01 mark to put the Kings up by a field goal. The goal was Kopitar’s 20th with Jake Muzzin providing the second helper.

It seemed as though the Kings were about to continue their season-high winning streak but the Flames had other ideas.

Determined not to go down without a fight, the Flames pressed on a late power play. It was then that the former King, the aforementioned Mike Cammalleri deflected a Mike Giordano shot to put Calgary on the board and spoil Martin Jones’s shutout bid. Then, with just 2:22 remaining in the third, tough guy Brian McGrattan slapped his third of the year past Jones and just like that, the Flames were back in the game.

The Kings, though, stood pat, preventing the Flames from tying, earning their eighth-straight win and, for head coach Darryl Sutter, his 499h-career win tying him with his predecessor Terry Murray.

So, despite the late scare, the Los Angeles Kings remain flawless since the Olympic break. Now, they look to match their franchise-record ninth-straight win when they return home on Thursday night to play host to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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In 2006, he retired as the NHL's all-time leading scorer among left-wingers. In 2007, the Los Angeles Kings raised his number to the rafters of STAPLES Center. In 2009, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Then, this past February, his statue was unveiled outside of the aforeme...

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